Not Quite two of a Kind
by Mahtoma
Summary: Alita comes face-to-face with her double, Gally. What could this mean for the young cyborg, and how much of Mainframe will be left standing after this is all over with?


The Warrior: Not quite two of a kind  
Act One, Book Two  
  
Alita, Gally, Desty Nova, Scrapyard, Tiphares, etc... Belong to Yukito Kishiro. One of the finest writers and artists ever to grace the written pages.  
  
Bob, Dot, Enzo, etc... Belong to Mainframe entertainment, which it is a thousandfold  
  
"Talent for Love" Belongs to Pioneer LDC.  
  
"Rock and Roll dreams come through" Belongs to MCA Records  
  
Warning: This story contains violent situations. Anyone who is offended by violence please do not read any further.  
  
I come from the real world  
Through Tiphares, the Scrapyard, and Granite Inn,  
To this place,  
Mainframe.  
My format...  
I don't know anymore.  
I protect my friends, from their enemies,  
And mine.  
Some say the User is a God that lives outside the Net  
And inputs games for pleasure  
I know better.  
  
The Warrior: Not quite two of a kind.  
By Ryan Norman  
  
Chapter One: Hello, Gally.  
Dot stood up and was about to go into her usual welcoming speech when she was stopped dead in her tracks.  
The customer was a young girl with short, black hair, and golden honey-brown eyes wearing a threadbare trench coat over a leather bodysuit. Each of the four friends knew exactly who it was, though there was no way it could be, but Enzo was the first to say it.  
"Alita?"  
"Yes, that's who I'm looking for," the girl said matter-of-factly, "Would any of you know where I could find Alita?"  
Alita herself stood up straight, revealing herself to the duplicate. "I am Alita. What can I do for you?"  
"Hello, Alita. I'm Gally."  
-------------  
What would it be like to meet yourself? Would it be a pleasant experience, or would it cut right to your soul? Would you try to be a better person from it, or ignore it as if it never happened?   
Alita has just met her double. What might come out of it is anyone's guess.  
-------------  
Alita felt like she was staring at herself in a mirror. The girl named Gally looked exactly like her, except... Yes. She felt her own cheeks, they were unmarred, a gift of being reborn, she supposed, yet Gally had the death marks cut into her face, revealing the gleaming metal that lay beneath her skin.  
"Is there something wrong?" Gally asked.  
"No... No. Well, yes," Alita hesitated, "Why do you look so much like me?"  
"Because I am you," Gally replied, "That's why I came to see you. We have some business to discuss."  
"What kind of business?" Alita wondered. She was wary of Gally. Knowing Nova, he would create a duplicate of her just to confound her.  
"Unfinished business," Gally explained, and walked out of the diner.  
Alita Turned to her friends, "I'll be back in a nano. This shouldn't take too long," she said.  
"Take all the time you need, Alita," Dot said. Bob nodded in agreement.  
"Thank you," Alita said, and then followed Gally out the door, ready for anything. "So what is this unfinished business you wanted to talk to me about?  
The moment she came out, however, Gally spun back and looked her 'sister' straight in the eyes. "What's wrong with you?"  
Alita was taken aback, "What do you mean?"  
"You're a Hunter-Warrior, a killer. I saw the way you were acting, treating that kid like some kind of boyfriend, and those other two like friends," Gally accused.  
Alita stood back in shock, "How did you kn... Never mind! Yes, Bob and Dot are my friends, and so is Enzo! I don't want to be a Hunter-Warrior anymore! I've given up the fighting!"  
Gally grabbed Alita by the neck and lifted her into the air, "We can't have friends, Alita. Every time we do something horrible happens. Do you want to be responsible for that boy's death?"  
Alita freed herself of Gally's grip and flipped away from her violent double, "I'll protect him."  
"Just like you tried to protect Hugo? I doubt it," Gally sneered, "He'll die and you'll turn right back to being a killer. It's in your blood. It's all you know how to do."  
"I'm better than that now. You haven't seen what I've seen. This place, this system has possibilities. It's changed me. Being a killer doesn't interest me anymore. Now that Megabyte's dead, this system is safe."  
"Megabyte isn't dead, Alita. He's alive and he has our weapons now," Gally shot back.  
"That can't be... I killed him with my own hands..." Alita said in shock.  
"You failed, Alita. You've become a disgrace to yourself. You threw your life away for love and now you're hiding in this stupid little diner," Gally accused, and then walked off, leaving a shattered Alita behind.  
  
Chapter Two: New Choices  
Two from what was one. One with a new feeling of love in her heart, the other still locked onto the hate of the past. Both have a glorious new future in the world of silicon and energy, but will both take advantage of it?  
-------------  
Alita walked dejectedly back into Dot's Diner, her head low and her spirits lower.  
"What's wrong, Alita?" Dot asked worriedly, "Who was that other girl?"  
"She was me," Alita replied, "And I failed."  
"Failed?" Bob wondered, "Failed at what?"  
"Megabyte's still alive..." Alita said, shrinking away from her friends."  
Bob shrugged, "So? We figured that metal monster wouldn't die so easily."  
"Yeah, there have been a few times we thought we'd deleted him and were proven wrong every time."  
Alita looked back up at her newfound friends, "But now he has the same weapons and equipment I do."  
"Will it really make him that much more powerful?" Dot asked in worry, "We've had a hard enough time dealing with him as it is."  
Alita thought about it for a moment. "No, it won't. All of the equipment was designed with my size and abilities in mind, his mass can't handle it..." she imagined Megabyte falling on his butt after the grappling line snaps from his weight. "And the weapons can only be used by an agent of the Tuned."  
"Then you have nothing to worry about," Bob said.  
"I can't wait to see Megabreath's plans ruined thanks to you, Alita," Enzo smiled.  
Alita kneeled down slightly, reaching Enzo's height, "Thanks Enzo. I feel better now."  
"Anytime," Enzo beamed proudly.  
"So now what are you going to do?" Bob asked, "Megabyte probably wont attack again anytime soon once he finds out your weapons won't work, not to mention you just hacked up a great deal of his Viral slaves."  
"I'm not sure..." Alita answered, "I'm not going to be a Hunter-Warrior anymore, that much is certain, but, what else is there for me?"  
Dot smiled sadistically at this, "Well, I have been planning to expand the Diner a bit... So I could use a waitress to help Cecil out with the orders."  
Alita stared at Dot in confusion, "You can't be serious."  
Dot just stared right back, "I am."  
"That's just great. I'm the only living person who knows the lost Panzer Kunst fighting techniques, I've beating hundreds of dangerous criminals single-handedly, and am the only ground dweller considered worthy to be a Tuned agent... and you want me to wait tables?" the girl groaned.  
"That's right," Dot laughed, "So, how about it?"  
"Dot, you've got yourself a waitress," Alita replied, and shook hands with her one-time enemy.  
-------------  
The Silicon Tor. Outpost of hatred and destruction in a system of peace. Also, a place in dire need of rebuilding. After Alita's rampage through it a few minutes ago, the interior has been on shaky supports. More than half of the Viral inhabitants have been deleted, while most of the others have been incapacitated.  
Despite all this, the ruler of this fractured tower was joyous.  
-------------  
"Herr Doktor?" Megabyte asked, "Is my new body ready for testing?"  
The Viral creature, which at one time resembled a normal one Binome, turned toward Megabyte and replied, "Yes, mien leaderhaus. We have completed synchronization. You are now at one with your new body."  
Megabyte flexed his right arm, the one that contained Alita's plasma generator, "Excellent!" he commented, "Begin the testing."  
Those few Virals that were still alive hauled massive blocks of steel out onto a vacant level of the Tor. Each block was labeled differently, one marked "strength test", another "plasma test", and a third "weapons test".  
"I suppose we should go in order," Megabyte remarked. He walked up to the first block, kneeled down, and lifted it in one hand, "Not much difference," he noted.  
"That is because Alita herself is physically weaker than you. By examining her musculature we were able to streamline your strength, allowing you greater agility along with your standard strength," Herr Doktor explained.  
"I see," Megabyte realized, "Same strength and quicker reflexes," He tossed the cube up into the air and attempted to do one of Alita's pounces. He failed, ending up unharmed, but underneath the metal block.  
"Herr Megabyte, are you still functional?" Herr Doktor asked, running up to the block.  
He was greeted by Megabyte's hand around its neck, "Do I look alright to you?" he demanded, "What went wrong?"  
Herr Doktor considered for a moment, "It is possible that Alita had some sort of fighting technique that allowed her to perform those moves. That, along with her small physical body might give her an agile advantage you could never achieve."  
Megabyte tossed the block aside and got to his feet, "I see," he mused, "Then we must depend on other forces in those instances." The blue demon walked up to the second steel block and raised his right hand. The first two fingers on his hand began to glow softly. "At least this works properly," he commented, and then shoved his hand right into the block. It dented impressively, but there was no sign of melted damage.  
"Herr Doktor?" the massive Virus growled, "This one did not work either."  
"Like I said, Mien Fuhrer," the Viral gulped, "We were not able to duplicate the plasma generator. We had to install the girl's original unit in your arm. It is possible that it was damaged when we retrieved it."  
"I am becoming increasingly disappointed with you, Herr Doktor," Megabyte explained, "I may need a new chief scientist soon."  
The Viral gulped again, "Well, the last test should work perfectly. There is nothing wrong with the rifle we found on the forty-ninth floor. It was relatively easy to replicate the ammunition they required."  
"Ammunition?" Megabyte growled, "Pah. What would I need with ancient firearms?"  
"They are quite powerful," Herr Doktor remarked.  
"Forget them. We must find another way to acquire more power."  
-------------  
Two minutes later at Dot's Diner, Alita started to regret to ever agreeing to be a waitress. Her once white apron was covered in stains from childish Binomes who thought she was a target in a food fight, and her hair was matted against her head from all the heat coming from the stoves. The worst of it, though, was that Dot was getting a kick out of the whole thing.  
"Order up, two more energy shakes for table four," she'd call out, then laugh as Alita had to navigate through the crowd of Binomes to reach her objective.  
Then, as her shift finally came to a close, Alita went up to Dot, "You know, you don't have to laugh so much."  
"But it's so funny. I mean, you're this take no prisoners Hunter-Warrior whatever and you can't handle a slow night at the diner," Dot laughed.  
"Listen... Wait, did you say that this was a slow night?" Alita halted in worry.  
"Yep. We usually get at least twice that many customers," Dot explained.  
"How were you ever able to handle this before?" Alita asked.  
"Well, I used to waitress myself, then I got a succession of temporary waitresses, then I got Cecil. But he's been in the shop getting his personality program fixed. This is probably your last night working alone."  
Alita wiped a rag across her forehead, "Thank the Net. I don't think I could handle all those Binomes alone again."  
"Yeah, it's tough. But don't worry. I've been there. You get used to it," Dot explained.  
"Really?" Alita looked at her friend strangely.  
"Okay... Not really," Dot broke under the pressure, "Why do you think I hired you?"  
"So you wouldn't have to deal with them," Alita answered.  
"Exactly!" Dot laughed.  
  
Chapter Three: Having some fun  
"Hey, Alita!" Enzo called out, doing his traditional running jump at the once-warrior. Alita saw it coming, however, and ducked just before he ran headfirst into her. Enzo ended up in a crumpled mass next to the wall of the diner. "Ohhh," he groaned.  
"You've gotta stop doing that, Enzo," Alita explained, "You know my training kicks in when you do that."  
"Sorry," the boy moaned. He got himself up off the ground and shambled over to her, "Are you off yet?"  
Alita smiled and took off her apron, "You bet!" she tapped the Icon Phong gave her. A stream of greenish energy flowed around her, causing her facial skin to tingle. A nano later, she was wearing her trench coat and bodysuit.  
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Dot asked as she watched the two.  
Alita looked around, bewildered, "What?"  
"This," Dot answered, holding out a clip of units, "It is payday, you know."  
"Oh!" Alita realized. She took the clip and pocketed it in a belt pouch, "Thanks."  
"Don't mention it," Dot answered.  
The two friends then ran out the door and took off, leaving a smiling Dot behind.  
-------------  
Gally stood across the street from the diner, waiting behind a vid-window billboard. She had waited for a long time, hours, in her own terms of time. She was waiting for her 'sister' to appear.  
She snorted to herself, [Why are you playing all friendly with these creatures?] she wondered, [They're nothing. They don't deserve your protection.]  
Her thoughts came to a halt, however, as she saw Alita and Enzo take off on zip-boards. She sneered and followed.  
-------------  
The shopping Mecca of Mainframe was a large expanse of stores, sidewalk merchants, and vendors, all competing with each other in a fierce battle for the customer's units. Anything could be bought at the Mecca, food, clothes, virtual chips, and electronics. Even miracles could be bought at the Mecca, but those don't cost money...  
-------------  
"So, Enzo, what should we buy?" Alita asked her friend, "I've got two-hundred and seventy units, so I can't afford too much, but don't let that stop you."  
Enzo smiled, "Really?"  
Alita couldn't help but laugh, "Yes, really."  
Enzo spent seconds searching through the Mecca, finding this thing and that, all sorts of toys and knick-knacks, yet still not finding anything he really wanted. Here, he found a strange-looking puppet with spikey red hair. There he found a statue of a girl that reminded Enzo of Alita, only with red hair and beads. Another store was selling "Official Guardian Merchandise", with a smaller store next door selling "Official Warrior Merchandise". Neither of the stores had anything that looked like Bob or Alita had used or would endorse.   
Then he came across 'it'. He knew that from the moment he saw it, that it was the perfect thing.  
"Could you keep a hold of this for a nano?" Enzo asked the shopkeeper.  
"Sure thing," the shopkeeper replied.  
-------------  
"I don't care if it is the real "Sword of Light", I'm not interested," Alita explained to a shopkeeper.  
"But it is! And it's a real steal at only two-hundred gold units!" the shopkeeper, a sprite with red hair, yellow skin, underdeveloped body, and kind of on the short side, explained  
A second sprite, this one tall and blonde with blue skin, walked up to the red-headed girl, "Uhm, Lina, are you trying to sell my sword again?"  
"Not now, Gourry, we've nearly got a sale," the red head mumbled to her partner.  
"I told you, I'm not interested," Alita said firmly, and walked off.  
"Now look what you've done!" the sprite named Lina yelled at the blonde, "We almost had a sale!"  
"But you were gonna sell my sword!" the blonde replied.  
Alita chuckled when she heard the two fighting, "Strange couple. They'll probably get married one day, though." Her laughter came to a sudden stop when she was struck full force in the chest by a bolt of green energy known as Enzo.  
"Hey, Alita, I found something really cool!" Enzo announced as he sat atop his friend.  
"That's nice. Could you get off of me though?" Alita asked. She wasn't having any trouble breathing, but she was uncomfortable none-the-less.  
"Oh, sorry," Enzo said, and quickly backed off the girl.  
Alita got back up and dusted herself off, "So what is this really cool thing you found?"  
"Here, I'll show you," Enzo said, and grabbed his friend by the metallic hand.  
The two weaved in and out of the crowds of people, reminding Alita of her job at Dot's Diner. They passed by dozens of stores, including the "Warrior" store.  
"I'd never use a shabby knife like that," she remarked at one of the blades on display, though Enzo yanked on her arm harder to get her to move faster.  
Finally, the two reached the store where Enzo found 'it'. Alita looked it over, "Enzo, this is a clothing store," she remarked.  
"Yeah, this is where I found 'it'," he explained.  
"Found what?"  
"This," and Enzo held up a pad displaying a beautiful red and black form-fitting suit, sporting shoulder pads similar to Dot's.  
"Uhm, Enzo, that's for girls. I said we'd get something for you, not me," Alita explained.  
"Yeah, but I have everything I need. I figured you should get this. It looks a lot cooler than your normal clothes."  
"But I like my clothes!" Alita said in distress.  
"But they're all worn out. You need some new clothes," the young sprite countered.  
Alita looked down, it was true, her trench coat was getting worn out and threadbare, her bodysuit had a few rips along one leg, and the soles of her boots were so thin there was more metal against the ground then fabric. "I guess so..."  
"So buy it," Enzo prodded.  
"But it costs two-hundred and fifty units," she said sadly, "If I buy this I can't get you anything."  
"Don't worry about me. If I need something, Dot will get it for me," the sprite replied.  
"Okay, you've convinced me," Alita smiled, "But just this once."  
--------------  
Gally followed the two friends to the shopping Mecca, watching every move they made with the closest scrutiny. All her thoughts were filled with hatred, all she saw made her angry.  
She watched as Alita laughed and enjoyed her time with Enzo. She sneered at the way her "sister" acted when Enzo showed her the suit. She growled at the way Alita gave in so easily to Enzo's prodding. And all the time she waited...  
Waited for an opportunity, waited for a clear sign, but most of all, she waited for a reason.  
--------------  
Alita came out of the dressing room wearing her new outfit. It was expensive, but it wore so well, fit in all the right places, and showed off every curve so well that she felt it was worth it. She did a little pose for her friend, "Well, how do you like it?"  
Enzo beamed, "It's great. It looks perfect on you!"  
"Well, these programmed outfits are form fitting. There's no such thing as loose around here," Alita noted, "I kinda miss my coat, though..."  
"You'll forget about it," Enzo explained.  
"I suppose," the young girl sadly agreed. She didn't stay that way for very long, though, as she perked up and turned to the sprite, "Now what?"  
"Frisbee?" Enzo smirked evilly.  
"Not with the stains you got on my last suit. I want this one to be clean for a while. What else?"  
"How about Cube Racing?" he suggested.  
"That game with the bikes? No thanks. I got flung off that thing six times yesterday."  
"You know, Alita, you may be the greatest fighter this system's ever seen, but you stink at games," the young sprite pointed.  
"I'm not used to doing something that doesn't involve taking a head," the former Hunter-Warrior explained.  
"Well, you need to learn. The only thing here that involves killing are the Games," Enzo replied.  
"But you just said..."  
"No. I mean real Games. The User sends them. If we lose, then the sector the Game lands on gets nullified," the boy explained.  
"Then you mean those weird squiggly things..."  
"Used to be sprites and binomes. Exactly."  
"That's horrible!"  
"Yeah. The basic User probably doesn't even know we exist."  
"How often do you lose?"   
"Well, before Bob came here, we used to lose all the time. But since Bob came here, we've only lost one, but that's because Megabyte kept him out of it."  
"When does this Game arrive?"  
"We never know. The User drops them whenever he wants to."  
"Is that so..." Alita smiled, "Then let's see Phong about a Game."  
  
Chapter Three: Training for the Games  
Ever played a game on your computer before? Probably. Ever wondered if you might be causing damage every time you win? Probably not.  
For every game you play, you drop a cube of solid death upon the people within. If you lose, the people get to live another day, until, of course, you drop another cube. If you win, whoever was inside that cube, gets nullified, reduced to a tiny slug-like creature, and will live out it's days absorbing the energy from others to feed itself.  
Even knowing all this, do you feel any remorse? Any sorrow at what you have done? That is not my place. I cannot condemn those for what I myself have done. I only ask that you ponder...  
-------------  
"You have come with a question?" the oddly shaped and legless sprite named Phong asked. "Do you know the rules?"  
Alita bowed before the ancient one and replied, "No, I do not, Master. I humbly ask that you inform me."  
"To learn from my wisdom you must defeat me at my favorite game," the wise old sprite explained.  
"Then I shall do my best," Alita answered, "How do I play?"  
"You must launch the disc past my defense," Phong explained. A compartment opened inside his torso and he removed two objects, shaped vaguely like computer chips. He handed one to Alita, and placed the other to his own forehead, "You must use this device to play."  
Alita took the chip and placed it to her forehead, expecting it to fall off the moment she took her hand away. It didn't. It stayed in place, held firmly by a form of cellular magnetism. "Now what?"  
"Patience, young one. Patience," Phong warned. He spread his arms apart, "Activate!"  
The room complied, and where a moment before the room was empty, a field with two goals now inhabited it.  
"Incredible," Alita marveled, "In my world that would be impossible."  
"You will find that many things in this world are seemingly impossible, young one," Phong explained, "You must learn to adapt."  
"I'm trying, wise one," Alita answered, "I truly am trying."  
"Then you have made a first step onto the path of redemption," Phong noted. He tapped the chip on his forehead and cubes of solid air appeared around him. One on each pseudo-hand, while a third covered his lower torso.  
Alita did the same, and felt a slight chill as the solid air wrapped around her hands and feet. If she thought about it for a while longer, she would realize that she shouldn't have felt a thing, but that was not foremost on her mind.  
The two took their places on opposite sides of the field, one protecting each of the two goals. A large disc-shaped object appeared in the center of the field and launched towards Phong.  
Phong took the disc between his two hands, smacking it back and forth between them. After a few nanos of buildup, the ancient one launched the disc toward Alita.  
The girl had an instinct to dodge, to avoid what seemed like a danger to her, yet she did not. Instead, she swung out with a block fist, knocking the disc back at Phong at an odd angle with an even greater buildup of speed.  
-------------  
By the time Alita and Enzo reached the Principal Office, they were alone. Gally had given up following her 'sister' for the day. She was tired, hungry, and bored. Tired of the chase, hungry for blood, and bored of the serenity the city seemed to radiate.  
She needed to find release, and from the few memories of Mainframe she shared with her 'sister', she knew just where to go for that release. She aimed her hand toward a building, fired off her high-tension line, and swung away, headed for Level thirty-one.  
-------------  
The game between Alita and Phong lasted for twenty nanoseconds before it was finally over with. Phong would have won, if not for a surprise play by Alita. She jumped into the air, carrying the disc with her, and then she shot it over the ancient sprite's head, making the goal.  
The ancient sprite and the former Hunter-Warrior met in the center of the field, which condensed back into an empty room. Alita removed the chip from her forehead and handed it to Phong, who put it, as well as his own, inside the compartment in his torso.  
"You have done well, my child," Phong commented sagely, "And as agreed, I will assist you. What is your question?"  
"I want to know how to play in the Games," Alita requested.  
"The Games are quite dangerous, young one," Phong explained, "However, I have faith in your skills as a warrior to teach you to play."  
"Thank you, wise one," Alita bowed again, "When do I begin?"  
"Immediately, if you wish. I had anticipated that you would request this of me. Follow," the ancient one answered, hovering off toward a large room filled with equipment.  
Alita followed, finding the room was filled with weapons of all shapes and sizes. Some were familiar firearms of her time and the past, others were weapons of fantasy and science fiction, which may never come to pass.  
"This is impressive, Phong," the girl noted, "But how does any of this help me in the Games?"  
"Most sprites rely on the weapons and equipment given to them by the Game, child. I feel that you would not be comfortable with the bare minimum. You are one who skirts on the edge, breaking taboo and rules as you see fit, so I brought you here."  
Alita examined some of the blades and found a few that seemed good enough for her purposes, "Nice..." she commented, "You have a fine selection of weapons."  
"It is... a curse I have. I despise violence and everything it stands for, and yet have an affinity for a finely crafted rifle or sword," Phong explained. "You see, once I was just like you. I was a reckless young sprite, obsessed with the Games and defeating the User. Then I was trapped in a Game I could not win and was nearly deleted by the User. I would have been nullified, as would the entire sector were it not for Etto."  
"Etto?" Alita asked, "That name sounds familiar."  
"Dot may have told you of him. He was her father, and the first savior of Mainframe. You see, back then, minor viruses were overrunning the system, while at the same time being nullified by the Games. Only a few dedicated sprites like myself were willing to risk our lives by playing against the User. By the time Etto showed up, I was the only defender left.  
"Etto saved me from deletion, but at the cost of my legs and body. He had no choice but to transfer my processor and a few of my working bits into this shell. After that, he went to the task of ridding the system of the Viruses. He succeeded, and for three entire cycles, Mainframe was safe."  
"Then what happened?" Alita was curious to know.  
"Etto settled down, linked with a nice young sprite named Chiren. Together they had Dot and Enzo... But then Chiren came under a horrible disease, a dataworm. It infected her entire body, leaving her a lifeless shell and Etto a broken link.  
"He was devastated, and withdrew from everyone around him. He began doing experiments to 'improve the lives of all Mainframers' as he put it. He toyed with sprite data, merging it with metal and wires, hoping to create a stronger sprite. Some say he even finished his final version, creating a young girl almost completely out of cybernetics."  
"A young girl..." Alita pondered, [This sounds familiar...]  
"Yes. However, even if he did create the girl, he never activated her, for his work was interrupted when Kilobyte came to Mainframe."  
"Kilobyte?"  
"Yes. He was a powerful Virus, capable of infecting half the city, but we did not know this. When he came to us, he appeared to be a normal sprite, only seriously wounded. Etto took him in and repaired his body with his gift for cybernetics. That is when Kilobyte took his true form. With the modifications Etto gave him, Kilobyte was capable of doing even more damage than he was before. He went on a rampage of deletion and destruction, reducing the population by a third. He even held Dot and Enzo hostage, demanding that Etto enhance him further.  
"This drove Etto insane, and as a last resort, he lured the Virus to the twin city, claiming he would give Kilobyte what he wanted. Instead, he rigged an explosion capable of destroying Kilobyte, the twin city, and himself."  
"Did it work?"  
"Yes, and no. Kilobyte was destroyed, but from his essence was spawned Megabyte and Hexadecimal. The Twin City was annihilated, leaving only Lost Angles as a twisted tribute to Etto's sacrifice."  
"That's... horrible," Alita said, wiping a tear from her eye.  
"That was your father for you," Phong answered cryptically.  
"What?!"  
  
Chapter Four: The Hunter's Moon  
Should we despise those who use violence to achieve an end to evil? Should we shun them and all the good they have done because of the method's they used?  
The heartless Gally is not that way by choice. Many brutal experiences, exactly the same as the sweat-hearted Alita went through, only twisted at the hands of a madman have made her the killer she is today. She never felt the warmth of a man's love for her like Alita did, the memory having been erased by Desty Nova, nor did she feel the friendship of Kaos by the same means.  
Gally does not deserve the hatred pointed towards her just from her actions alone. But when she just continues on her rampage of death, can we truly feel any sympathy?  
------------  
Vicel was never a good thief. He'd been caught 99% of the time he tried to steal even a single unit. The only time he was successful at being a thief, the chip he stole turned out to be useless. This time, though, he was certain his luck would change.  
He spotted a seemingly well to do binome couple. The female wearing a fancy necklace and glittering prism earrings while the male had a gem-encrusted cane. He took out his knife, a chipped, dull, and rusting bit of metal he picked up off the street a minute before, and walked up to the couple.  
"I say, dear chap. Would you mind getting out of our way?" the male binome asked.  
"Yes, we are in a hurry, you know," the female agreed.  
"Shut up!" Vicel shouted angrily. He held his knife out, pointing it at the female, "Give me all your units and valuables or I'll slice the twitch!"  
The couple shook in fear. The male held out his datapacket while the female removed her necklace and earrings for Vicel to take.  
[Looks like my luck is finally looking up,] Vicel thought. He reached out to grab the datapacket, when a knife, far sharper and better maintained than his own, imbedded itself in his outstretched palm.  
"Ahhh!" he shouted in pain. He reached for the knife and yanked it out with another shriek of pain, red liquid dripping from the wound. He turned around to see who attacked him but saw no one. "Come on out and face me you scragger!" he shouted. His green and white skin started to sweat visibly as he backed up to the nearest alleyway, clutching his wounded hand.  
The binome couple, by this time, decided it would be in their best interest to run, leaving behind both the datapacket and jewelry.  
"Thievery is a class 'F' crime. You can die here or face a sentence of three years Factory work. How do you plead?" a female voice called out.  
Vicel tossed his chipped knife into the shadows, hoping to strike his target, "Scrag off, you stupid twitch!" he shouted. Any thoughts of thievery had evaporated from his mind. All he could think of now was survival, "I ain't going back to jail!"  
"Very well. You choose death," the voice decided. A second knife materialized from the darkness, striking Vicel in the left leg.  
"Arrrggghhh!" the thief shouted in even greater pain. He dropped to his knees, clutching at the new wound, "Where are you, you twitch?" he demanded, "Come out here!"  
His wish was granted. A girl stepped calmly from out of the shadows. The skin on her face was pink, an odd color for a sprite, with silvery gashes carved under the eyes and across the back of her cheeks. Her raven-black hair covered her head like a halo, while loose strands played across her forehead. She wore an old worn-out trenchcoat, covering her slim, short body where her black bodysuit did not. A pair of brown boots came up to her knees, which were covered by gunmetal kneepads.   
Some might say she was pretty, others might say she looked young and innocent, still others might say she looked defenseless. Vicel knew better. He saw the demon fire burning in her honey-brown eyes and knew her for the killer she was. "What are you?" he begged.  
"I am a Hunter-Warrior, and I've come for your head," she explained. Without a nanosecond's pause, she reached out with a hand and shoved it right through his torso. She grabbed his barely functioning RAM unit and crushed it, ending Vicel's future, good or evil.  
"Make sure you do right in your next lifetime," Gally commented. She pulled her hand out, which was now covered in Vicel's blood, and pondered it for a moment. Then she just dumped the body on the ground and walked off into the alleyways.  
--------------  
The Downsystem area of Level Thirty One was a waste filled pile of scrap. All the trash that never made it to Pearson's Data Dump somehow made it here. It was a place where rival gangs of sprites and binomes met to battle over property and turf, while the dregs of an imperfect government cowered in the background.  
Just such a battle was heating up when Gally arrived...  
--------------  
"We've told youse DataCrushers for the last time, this is CyberBit territory!" a binome gang leader shouted, "Now get lost or get stomped!"  
"The DataCrushers are gonna take this territory from you and there's nothing you CyberBits can do about it!" the blood red leader of the opposite gang argued.  
"Oh yeah!"  
"Yeah!"  
And the battle would start. Knives, chains, and discarded CPU pistols were all a part of the fight, each side trying to do the most damage to the other side. These fights usually lasted through the night, and by morning most of the combatants would be unconscious and wounded and nothing would be lost or gained.  
Gally planned to change all that.  
She stepped up to the highest point on a nearby pile of trash and activated the speaker built into her throat, "DataCrushers and CyberBits!" she announced. Both gangs suddenly stopped fighting and looked up at her. "I am a Hunter-Warrior. Cease your criminal activities or die here and now."  
"Scrag you!" the Binome gang leader shouted.  
"Byte off, twitch!" the red sprite agreed.  
"You have been warned," Gally smiled, "Now face death!" She jumped into the crowd and pressed a hand firmly against a nearby zero binome, then quickly jumped away again. There was a moment of silence, with all eyes on the zero, when all of a sudden, he burst, leaving twisted pieces of metal behind.  
"What kind of a scragger are you?" the red sprite demanded. He fired a shot off at Gally with his modified CPU pistol.  
The shot would have hit the girl right through the head, that is, if she hadn't twisted just enough for the shot to have missed her. "Want to try that again?" she asked.  
"You twitch!"   
Gally jumped forward, holding her left arm out. All of a sudden, her Damascus blade was in hand. Her leap led her right up to the red sprite, whom her knife took a deep gash from his stomach. He dropped to the ground roaring in pain, bleeding severely.  
Then, all hell broke loose as the two gangs ignored their own petty differences and focused on the acrobatic girl. Chains, knives and boards struck out at her while the few working pistols fired off round after round. A few lucky attacks struck, tearing and burning clothing, baring the gunmetal gray body that lie beneath to their amazed gazes.  
Gally rolled into a ball as she finally escaped the tangled web of death and came to a stop by a nearby hill. She unrolled her body and stood tall, scraps of clothing left where once a full bodysuit existed. Her body was mostly bared, showing her skin for what it was, pure metal. "Like what you see, boys?" she smirked, and from out of nowhere, a green tear appeared above her and flowed over her body, and where a nearly nude cyborg was a nanosecond before, a fully armored combat cyborg appeared.  
Her hand reached down to her sidearm and, faster than even an eye made of light could see, she had it out and fired off ten shots in a row, bringing down nine of the binomes. She raised the gun and smirked again, "Who's next?"  
-------------  
Twelve nanoseconds later, the battle was over. There were no more gang members, only shards of metal, plastic and spatters of blood. The vicious Hunter-Warrior known as Gally smiled at the gang member's remains and laughed. "Finally, I'm getting back in the swing of things. I thought I was losing my touch there for a while."  
A second tear of green light appeared and flowed over her, returning her to a full bodysuit and trench coat. She jumped down off the trash heap she stood on and walked off, softly singing a song from long ago...  
  
Chapter Five: Musical Talents  
After a long day of training and very little sleep, Alita showed up at Dot's Diner, tired and confused. She was not physically tired, for her cyborg body never wavered, and could go for days without food, water, or maintenance, nor was it any kind of fatigue, for she had served numerous assignments which required her not sleeping for days on end, but mentally, she was exhausted.  
Phong's cryptic comment to her while she was at the Principal Office confused her. [Why did he say Etto was my father as well as Dot's?] she wondered, [Was he saying that Etto was Ido, the man who found me in the scrapheaps and rebuilt me? That's not possible. It was sheer luck that I ended up here.]  
"About time, Alita," Dot called out, "You're 2.7931 nanoseconds late."  
Alita bowed, "I'm so sorry, Dot," she apologized, "I won't let it happen again."  
"Good," Dot stopped for a moment, "You got some new clothes, I see."  
"Yes," Alita smiled proudly, "Enzo picked it out for me. Do you like it?" She twirled around, showing off her new outfit.   
"It suits you. Now please get dressed," Dot smiled, "I'm not expecting a crowd tonight but it's good to be prepared anyway."  
"Yes," Alita tapped her icon, and the shift came over her again, leaving her wearing her apron and diner uniform.  
-------------  
The night came to a close, and Alita slumped against a chair. Dot was right that there weren't many customers, but those that were there were very demanding.   
Some fat binome named Lonthro pinched her ass while she was trying to serve him the three energy wines he drunkingly asked for. He sprained his hand, which she was glad of, but still wasn't happy about it. Once again, she could actually feel, as if she had nerves and skin instead of cold dead metal.  
Another binome, one from the CPU, ordered nothing but pure crystal all night long. It had no taste, and had the bare minimum of energy in comparison to all the other drinks. He had a hearty appetite, though, and wolfed down three databurgers almost as soon as she served them.  
Yet a third just sat there at a table, doing nothing and ordering nothing. He'd call her over, wait for a full two nanos, then dismiss her. He did this seven times, and then just left without a word.  
"I don't know if I can handle this, Dot," Alita commented as Dot slid into the seat across from the former Hunter-Warrior.  
"Oh, you get used to it," Dot explained, "It takes a while, but you'll see."  
"You said that before," Alita noted dryly.  
"Did I?" Dot smirked, "I must've forgotten. But, I noticed you haven't attacked a single customer, no matter how rude they've been. It's tough, and I myself have had my ascii pinched on more than one occasion."  
"You have?" Alita asked, wide-eyed.  
Dot stood up and started showing off, "What, you don't think a figure like this would get ignored by the guys, do you?"  
"No... Sorry."  
Dot sat back down, "Don't mention it. Anyway, I was wondering, what was that tune you were singing?"  
"It's called, 'Talent for Love'. It's a very old song. One I used to sing back when I worked at 'New Kansas'," the girl explained.  
"It's very pretty. Do you think you could sing it for me?"  
"But, I don't have a synthesizer... There's no music..." Alita stammered.  
"You didn't need any while you were serving the customers," Dot pointed out.  
Alita stood before Dot and coughed, "Okay. Just remember, I warned you..."   
She began singing, at first her voice was jagged, not quite singing the tune correctly, but after a nano, she was into the swing of it.  
  
Life is so full of hurry and hustle  
Sometimes I think it's passing us by  
The days are like hours, hours like minutes  
I'm caught up in it till 'till I look in your eyes  
And, to my surprise, I find there is a heaven  
Time is unreal, making me feel... free and alive  
  
Alita went full out, her voice reaching a crescendo, becoming as sweet as pure energy cascading down a waterfall.  
  
You touch me, you kiss me, and time has no meaning  
I'm on a rocket, to some other zone  
Baby, you thrill me... whatever you're doing  
Don't think of stopping until we are light-years away  
All alone... 'Cause I want to keep this   
Treasure for my very own  
Your Talent for love  
  
As she moved into the second verse, Alita saw the look on Dot's face, a mixture of embarrassment and amazement. She brought her voice lower, making her sound more like the child she appeared to be.  
  
Try 'n move forward, pushing and shoving  
People all get in each other's way  
But when two lovers find their own magic  
Nothing else matters, 'cause they know it will stay  
And I know somehow, our spell will never be broken  
Timeless and real, making me feel... free and alive  
  
You touch me, you kiss me, and time has no meaning  
I'm on a rocket, to some other zone  
Baby, you thrill me... whatever you're doing  
Don't think of stopping until we are light-years away  
All alone... 'Cause I want to keep this   
Treasure for my very own  
Your Talent for love  
  
Alita finished and dropped back to the chair, once again emotionally exhausted. Her throat hurt, not having sung like that in almost seven years. She glanced at Dot, who was deeply blushing. "What's wrong?" she asked hoarsely.  
"Nothing, nothing," Dot waved her off, trying to cover her face.  
"The song reminded you of someone, didn't it?" Alita remarked.  
Dot lowered her head and folded her hands in front of her, "T... Two people, act... actually," she replied sadly.  
Alita thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers, "It's Bob, isn't it?"   
"Yes," Dot replied, "And me."  
"What about you?"  
"The second verse... About people being busy all the time. It's true. I am always busy. I don't take time for Bob or Enzo..." the young businesswoman started to cry.  
"I'm sorry. I just sang the song like you asked."  
"It's not your fault. That's the way the song goes," Dot looked back up at her friend, a forced smile on her face, "You know, Cecil is coming back tomorrow, how would you like to sing for an audience?"  
"But I don't have any instruments, or a band," Alita argued.  
"I know a good band, and Phong can get you any instruments you might need," Dot replied, wiping her tears away, "So, how about it?"  
--------------  
The next night, a stage was set at the far end of the diner. At it, a group of four binomes, two zeros and two ones, all wearing black leather, were tuning their instruments while two female ones and a third male one stood on a platform off to the side. Alita was also on the stage, sitting on a shortened barstool and tuning her keyboard synthesizer.   
A crowd was forming. Some of the more frequent patrons of the diner were the majority of the crowd at first, but then the curious wandered in, more than doubling the patronage. All were wondering what was going to happen. But most importantly, a young girl wearing a trench coat near the back of the diner was watching and waiting. For something to go right, or horribly wrong.  
  
Chapter Six: Stage Fight  
Alita's singing career seemed off to a good start when, after her first song, "Talent for Love", she received a standing ovation. The fact that it was pretty much standing room only didn't seem to detract from that.  
That's when she started her synthesizer up again, leading into her next song, "Rock and Roll Dreams come through".  
The band lead in with some soft and somewhat eerie music as Alita tapped out the beat, then the backup singers joined in, softly singing like a smooth siren's wail. Then without any hesitation, Alita burst out singing while the background singers abruptly stopped. She sang with power, emphasizing the words in the back of her throat before releasing them on the audience.  
  
You can't run away forever  
But there's nothing wrong  
With getting a good head start  
You want to shut out the night,  
You want to shut down the sun  
You want to shut away the pieces of a broken heart  
  
As she went into the verse, her voice began trembling, as if she was afraid, but she wasn't afraid. The music was invigorating her.  
  
Think of how we'd lay down together  
We'd be listening to the radio so loud and so strong  
Every golden nugget coming like a gift of the gods  
Someone must have blessed us when he gave us those songs  
  
Her voice sang pure and rich, and in her heart she recalled times with Figure, her former lover, and how she once softly sang him to sleep with her voice. This did not depress her, it only enriched her heart, and her singing.  
The guitar player went into cue, stepping up his playing, adding a forcefulness to the music. Alita could feel the power the guitar held, and jumped right in while the backups began their siren wail again.  
  
I treasure your love, I never want to lose it  
You've been through the fires of hell  
And I know you've got the ashes to prove it  
I treasure your love, I want to show you how to use it  
You've been through a lot of pain in the dirt  
And I know you've got the scars to prove it  
  
She halted her breath for a sliver of a nanosecond, and with it, the entire audience, and when she sang again, it felt as if she was specifically singing to each and every creature in the audience.  
  
Remember everything that I told you,  
And I'm telling you again that it's true  
When you're alone and afraid, and you're completely amazed  
To find there's nothing anybody can do  
Keep on believing, and you'll discover baby  
  
She let loose again, completely enthralled in the music. She grabbed the microphone from its stand and flung the stand away, bending down to look out at everyone with a glint in her eyes, which were shining as if they were on fire.  
  
There's always something magic,  
There's always something new  
And when you really really need it the most  
That's when rock and roll dreams come through  
The beat is yours forever, the beat is always true  
And when you really really need it the most  
That's when rock and roll dreams come through for you  
  
She said the last two words with a quick breath, letting them out in a way that fit the rest, but stood out. Then she pulled back, taking a few quick breathers as the saxaphone player jumped up and replaced Alita's voice for half a nano, then dropped back as she started into the bridge.  
  
Once upon a time was a backbeat,  
Once upon a time all the chords came to life  
And the angels had guitars even before they had wings  
If you hold onto a chorus you can get through the night  
  
She went back to the chorus, never wavering, always in control.  
  
I treasure your love, I never want to lose it  
You've been through the fires of hell  
And I know you've got the ashes to prove it  
I treasure your love, I want to show you how to use it  
You've been through a lot of pain in the dirt  
And I know you've got the scars to prove it  
  
Remember everything that I told you,  
And I'm telling you again that it's true  
You're never alone cause you can put on the phones  
And let the drummer tell your heart what to do  
Keep on believing, and you'll discover baby  
  
There's always something magic,  
There's always something new  
And when you really really need it the most  
That's when rock and roll dreams come through  
The beat is yours forever, the beat is always true  
And when you really really need it the most  
That's when rock and roll dreams come through for you  
  
And as the song faded, the backup singers repeated the same line in ever decreasing power while Alita stepped back to wipe her forehead of the accumulating sweat.  
  
The beat is yours forever  
That's when rock and roll dreams come through  
--------------  
The first of two sets ended and Alita walked into the back stage, which was really just the blocked off bathroom. There she found her 'sister' waiting for her.  
Gally slammed the door to the bathroom shut, knocking the two female backups off their feet. "I see you're singing again, 'sister'," she noted, ice in her voice.  
Alita turned around in shock, "You!"  
"You're getting sloppy, 'sister'," Gally spat, "Being friendly to these... creatures is ruining your talents."  
"I have more talents than just killing, Gally," Alita defended, "It's about time I used them."  
"Bah!"  
"I'm sick of the killing. I'm sick of sleeping under cold stars on a barren wasteland, waiting for the electrical shock of the Controller to wake me up the next morning. I'm sick of the death that coats my hands with so much blood that no matter how fiercely I clean them it doesn't come off. I'm sick of being alone all the time, with only a voice over a radio to keep me company. But most of all, I'm sick of being so cold to everyone I see, being hateful and indifferent to everyone I come across," Alita shot back.  
"I see it in your eyes, Alita," Gally remarked, "You still have the killer's instinct. You can't run from it. It's always there."  
"I've refused it."  
"You can't. It's part of you. It's part of me. We're the same, you and I."  
"No, I don't think so. You're colder then I've been in a long time. Even before I came here I wasn't as bad as you. You're missing something."  
"My soul was lost long ago, Alita. I lost it when I saw the one person I might have cared for die horribly. You got to keep Figure while I got nothing!" and Gally struck out at her 'sister'.  
Alita dodged to the side, allowing Gally's punch to fling by her. Gally launched out a foot, aiming for Alita's chest, but the former Tuned just jumped out of the way.  
"Fight back, damn it!" Gally shouted, angrily letting out punches and kicks, hoping to do some damage.  
"No," Alita stated calmly, "If I strike back I become as bad as you."  
"Hit me!" Gally demanded.  
"No," Alita answered. She began to walk out of the bathroom when Gally smashed her fist through the wall, creating a barrier with her arm.  
"Hit me or I'll kill Enzo," she breathed.  
Alita lost control. She reached out and grabbed Gally by the throat and tossed her to the ground. "Don't you ever threaten Enzo again!" she shouted into her 'sister's' face, "I am sick of people trying to get to me through him, so if you ever hurt him I promise you I'll crush your head!" and then she stood up and walked out.  
"You're on your way back to me, Alita," Gally replied.  
-------------  
Dot walked up to Alita as she walked out of the bathroom, "What's wrong? I heard you shouting with someone," she asked worriedly.  
"It was Gally. She's come back," Alita replied.  
Dot opened the door to the bathroom and looked in. Other than the hole in the wall and the cracked flooring, it was empty. "I don't see her."  
"Of course she'd run off as soon as she said what she wanted to say," Alita explained, "It's what I would've done."  
"But you've changed," Dot noted, "Why hasn't she? She's you, isn't she?"  
"Yes and no," Alita replied, "She's an exact duplicate of me, with the same experiences I've had up until I was killed by Megabyte. But the man who sent me here, Desty Nova, he altered her mind. In her mind her Figure is dead, but mine is still alive."  
"Who's Figure?"  
"My... former lover. It's... complicated," Alita blushed.  
"I'm sure," Dot smiled, "Do you think you can still go on?"  
Then Alita smiled, "I think I need to do this now."  
  
Chapter Seven: Conflict of interests  
Music is a vortex to the soul. Sometimes just listening to a tune or reading the lyrics of a favorite song can switch a person's mood around better than almost anything. It can help someone recall fond memories, or banish away all but the most painful mental scars.  
For Alita, music is a release. All the anger, the frustration, and the tension is let loose in a single bolt of fiery lyrics. Soft, hard, metal or country, it doesn't matter to her, it's all beautiful and it's all an escape. Up on stage a whole new person emerges, taking in all the cheering, all the applause, all the love Alita doesn't feel she deserves.  
But deep down, her old self still tugs at her emotions, making her cry when she wants to laugh, making her hate when she wants to love. That side is pushing her, making her go back to her old ways. The Games call to this side of her persona, and lately, it's been winning.  
-------------  
The next minute, Mainframe was ablaze with rumors. Everyone was talking about the warrior-turned-singer, Alita. Three seperate music outlets were eager to sign the young girl onto a contract, and the local vid-station wanted her to do a music video. The three autographs Alita allowed herself to sign were worth three-thousand units each, and the ruined microphone stand that she accidently bent in half was worth ten-thousand units. She was a sensation all across the system.  
But Alita herself did not feel so proud of this. All she could think about the next day was Gally's smug smile and her accusations. [Could she be right about me?] she wondered, [I mean, who better to tell you how you feel than yourself.]  
A knock on her door wiped away these thoughts. "Enter," she said.  
The door opened with a 'swoosh' sound to it and Enzo entered, "Hey Alita!" he shouted happily, "Your concert was great. It was Alphanumeric!"  
Alita smiled. All her troubles seemed to wash away whenever Enzo came around. He was the one thing that could really cheer her up. "Thanks. I needed that," she told her young friend.  
"Why? You did great," he said, "Especially that song, what was it? Angel's descension?"  
"Yes. A good friend wrote that one for me almost eleven years ago. But he died," Alita almost became depressed again, but being around Enzo that quickly dissipated.  
"You sure have had a lot of friends, Alita," Enzo noted, "Of course, since you're such a nice person that makes sense."  
"I wasn't always this nice, Enzo. I've changed a lot since I came here."  
"I know..." Enzo was about to say more when the door opened. The two friends looked to find three one binomes arguing amongst themselves enter the room.  
"Yes?" Alita asked.  
"I represent MCGI Entertainment," one of the binomes said, "I have here a five cycle contract for a digital record deal I'd like you to consider."  
"No, no," the second binome argued, "I have a ten cycle contract and my company is willing to pay seventy-thousand units a cycle."  
"My company will pay twice that much!" the third binome joined in. And soon the argument between the three began again.  
"Now, now, gentlemen. I'm sure your contracts are great and everything, but I'm not certain singing is what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life," Alita tried to explain. The three binomes didn't even hear her.  
Enzo looked up at his friend, "I don't think they're listening."  
"I don't think so..." she stopped suddenly, "Do you hear that?"  
Enzo strained his ears, "No. What do you hear?"  
"The crackle of ozone. A Game's coming," she replied.  
"How can you tell that?" the boy asked, "I don't hear a thing."  
Alita pointed at her left ear, "Tuned hearing. I could hear a null squeal four hundred pixels away."  
"Whoa!"  
"Shouldn't we get going?" Alita asked. She tapped her icon, transforming her from the singing star she was a moment before and into a battle armor variation of her bodysuit. Across her back she carried a long sword and plasma rifle while along her legs she carried a variety of explosives, sidearms and knives. "I'm ready."  
"What's all that for?" Enzo asked.  
"I like to have an edge," Alita replied.  
-------------  
The Game Cube. An imposing site to say the least. The sky splits open in a circular hole with a burst of electricity and the crackling of ozone. A female voice calls out of the air, "Warning, Incoming Game," twice, and then vanishes, while the purple cube of certain nullification comes from the sky in a straight column.  
The Game Cube brings chance. A chance at Life or death, fame or ruin, good or evil. The only advantage one has in the Games is the ones a sprite brings with them. For even what the Game provides is chance. It can provide powerful weaponry, or dangerous setbacks.  
-------------  
Bob stood in preparation for the Game. He had the fortune, or misfortune some might think, to be right where the cube was going to fall.  
"Bob!" a voice called out.  
He held up his Glitch unit, the strange, gear-shaped object he wore on his left wrist. The middle of the gear became an image of Dot. "Hi, Dot," he smiled, "What's up?"  
"Enzo and Alita..." Dot frowned, "They're gone!"  
"You told Enzo not to go in the Games didn't you?" Bob asked.  
"Yes, but I just said unless a professional was with him," Dot replied.  
Bob slapped his forehead, "And Alita's about as professional as they come!"  
"Exactly!"  
"This is bad. Very bad!"  
-------------  
"Alita?" Enzo asked as the two friends flew toward the Game Cube on their zip-boards.  
"Yes?" Alita replied.  
"Why are we headed for the Game?"  
"Because I want to play."  
"But why? I mean, Games are fun, but, all those weapons. That's not how you play them."  
"I don't like to lose."   
"Then why play? You can sing. I bet you can make lots of units off of that."  
Alita thought about it for a nano, and then answered, "I don't know. But I'm bound to find out what's what when we get in there."  
-------------  
While the three main players joined the playing field, a fourth, Gally, to be specific, decided to stop playing the role of observer and instigator, and became a player herself. She felt a change wash over her as she watched Alita and Enzo, and decided that maybe this place wasn't so bad after all...  
She fired her high-tension line and swung toward the cube's landing zone. Were one to look at her, they'd think some cyberized Spider-Man had come to the system.  
  
Chapter Eight: Game Time   
Four young people. Four very different young people. Each inside the Game Cube.  
One is a warrior, tried and true. There is no greater killer than her. She's proud of that fact. The only thing she looked down upon was her 'sister', the original. But now she is starting to doubt herself.  
The second person is a former warrior. She used to be proud of the killing. She used to think she was doing good. Now, she's not so sure. She is a singer, she is a fighter, and she is a friend. She feels drawn to the Game but doesn't even know why.  
The third person is a young sprite, a child really. Undeveloped and curious, he looks up to the two strongest people he knows. They are opposite spectrum characters in the grand scheme of things, one a strict businesswoman, the other, a chaotic soldier. Now there's a third figure in the scheme, a mixture of the two, both strict and carefree, both businesswoman and soldier. Who knows now how the boy will mature?  
The fourth, but not the least, is a veteran of the Games. He hasn't lost a one, though that speaks for itself. He is a soldier, one of the elite Guardians, and the defender of System Mainframe. He is a good man, with honor in his soul and love in his heart. Love, in particular, for a certain businesswoman, whom he just recently had a romantic interlude with. Both deny it, falling back into the cat and mouse game of love they play.  
What chance do these four misfits have at working together to save their lives? A great deal actually, for the four are entwined intricately with each other. They all have a special compassion inside them, even if not all of them would admit it.  
-------------  
Alita was surprised when the Game Cube fell around her. It had this strange sensation to it, like she was moving through a thick liquid. That's when it finally hit her, she could feel. Her metal skin, which had no sense of touch, could suddenly sense cold, warmth, all sorts of sensations she never could feel before. [This feels great!] she thought to herself.  
Then the cube landed completely, and the sensation ended, only to be replaced by a cool breeze flowing around her. She found herself in a serene forest environment, a hawk flapped through the sky and the smell of pine wafted through the air.  
"This is a Game?" she asked Enzo, "I thought they took place in murky dungeons or warzones, but nothing like this."  
"They take place in all kinds of places. Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Enzo explained.  
"No she won't," a male voice called out. Alita and Enzo both turned to see Bob walking toward them, "What are you two doing here?"  
"I'm here to play," Alita explained.  
Bob eyed her weapons, "I can see that," he noted, then turned to Enzo, "But what about you? You know Dot doesn't like you coming into Games."  
Enzo looked up at his hero, "But I couldn't let Alita go in alone. She's never played a Game before."  
"I've done two simulations," Alita explained.  
Bob sighed in resignation, "Okay, but just this once. Alita, I'm sure you'll do fine in the Games, but don't take Enzo in with you, okay?"  
"He came on his own. I can't control him," Alita smiled.  
Bob sighed a second time. "Let's get this over with," he tapped his icon twice, "Reboot!"  
A wave of green light washed over him in a curtain, then lifted away into nothingness, revealing a rather muscular Guardian in it's wake. He now wore a tattered brown cloak, barely covering his torso, while a fur loincloth covered the essentials. Fur boots covered his feet, leaving his legs bare to the wind, while a single leather gauntlet rested around his left arm, with his keytool perched atop that. His face was unshaven and weather worn, giving him a menacing impression.  
Alita eyed the young Guardian, not being one to avoid looking at prime male specimens. He had a variety of scars along his arms, torso, and legs, indicating that not every adventure he went through left him unharmed. "Nice," she purred softly.  
Bob looked himself over, then blushed. "The one thing I hate about being the warrior is that I have to wear this stuff," he complained.  
"I don't see anything wrong with it," Alita smirked.  
"You don't? Let me tell you something, this stuff itches!"  
"Whatever," Alita tapped her own icon, "Reboot!"  
The green light overcame her, and for an instant, the universe was opened up to her. She could see the farthest stars, and knew all there was to know, and then it vanished. "That was intense!" she breathed heavily.  
"Mmm, very nice," Bob said as he looked at Alita.  
For a moment she didn't understand, but when she looked down, she saw what he was refering to. The reboot had given her a flesh-like body, only it enhanced attributes that she didn't feel needed enhancing. Her breasts were much larger, which ruined her sense of balance, while her hips were wider and her waist was thinner. Worse than that, though, was the revealing and incredibly skimpy clothing she wore. A leather brazier that showed off her cleavege rather than cover it, and a mini-skirt made out of straps of thin metal plated leather. Worse than all of those things was that her two hand blasters were gone, as was her plasma rifle.  
"Damn it!" she shouted, "I have breasts the size of melons, a waist barely thicker than my thigh and my guns are missing!"  
"I noticed," Bob smirked.  
Alita glanced up at Bob, "If it wasn't for the fact that I could take your face off, I'd slap you for that," she growled. Without waiting for a response, she turned to Enzo, who had already rebooted.  
The boy was smiling widely. He was wearing gray magician's robes and held a staff in one hand. He seemed rather content with his role.  
"Stop smiling," Alita and Bob said in unison.  
"What?" the boy asked.  
From out of the trees a fourth voice spoke up, "Well, well, what do we have here? A brawny and brainless swordsman, a big breasted amazon and a child for a magician. How appropriate," Gally called out, walking into the clearing. Unlike the three friends, the warrior had not rebooted, so she was only clad in her Tuned battle armor.  
She walked right up to Alita, "You look just like the slut you are!" she commented.  
Alita just stood in place, not reacting to her 'sister's' taunts. "It's what the game made me," she stated bluntly.  
"Is that so?" Gally replied. She sauntered up to Bob, "Well, big boy, I was just wondering if I could join in on your little hunt. May I?"  
Bob's jaw dropped in amazement, "S... sure," he babbled.  
"Bob!" Alita growled, "You don't know how dangerous Gally is. I do. It's not a good idea to take her along."  
"It's not?" Bob asked, still a bit dazed.  
"Of course not!" Alita replied.  
"I don't see why not, 'sister'," Gally replied, "Besides, I know where the User is."  
"You what?" Alita asked in shock.  
"I found the User. While you three were chatting, I was hunting him," Gally explained.  
"Then lead us to him!" Bob suggested.  
"Then you'll let me join your little group?" Gally smirked.  
Bob and Alita both exchanged worried glances. "Fine," the Guardian sighed. He unsheathed the massive broadsword from the sheath on his back, "Now, take us to the User."  
-------------  
The forest was thick and tightly fit together. One barely had space for their own body to fit through, let alone three or four bodies moving side by side. This left the group uncovered and vulnerable, walking in a one by one formation.  
That is, the three friends were left on the ground in a row. Gally chose to take to the branches, jumping across them in an awesome display of stealth.  
"Would you get down here?" Alita demanded, "You could be spotted up there."  
"I don't see how. There's more cover up here," Gally replied. She stopped for a moment on one of the thicker branches to catch her breath, "Besides, you should be up here with me, not down there with those vermin."  
"Us vermin have names you know," Bob pointed out.  
"I don't care what your name is. I don't care about you at all. All I care about is my 'sister'," Gally explained.  
"So you say after trying to seduce me," Bob argued.  
"Tried?" Gally wondered in bewilderment, "I did seduce you. You were eating out of my hand."  
"Quiet! All of you!" Enzo shouted softly, "If you keep this up, someone will hear you."  
As if an almighty force heard the boy, a group of massive trolls appeared. They tore many of the trees away, leaving the heroes vulnerable.  
Alita jumped to her work, long sword out and at the ready. She jumped high, aiming for the lead troll's head. This attack failed two-fold. First, because her flesh body and amble bust sapped her agility, and second, when she did land a blow, closer to the troll's lower torso, her blade glanced right off its thick hide.  
"Damn it!" she grumbled, "This Reboot thing's taken my strength away!"  
"Not mine!" Bob pointed out as he slashed the head off of the lead troll instead of Alita. His cloak was splashed in green ichor, but otherwise he was unaffected.  
Gally jumped down from the trees, a hail of bullets ripping through the other trolls. While this did not actually kill them, it did slow them down enough for her Damascus blade to take one of their lives. She landed perfectly, her blade dripping green and a smirk on her face.  
Even Enzo was holding his own. A fireball spell annihilated two trolls while severely injuring the third and final one.  
Alita pulled out three of her daggers and flung them at the final troll. They bounced off. "Damn it!"  
"You can't do anything, can you 'sister'?" Gally asked as she fired an armor piercing round right through the final troll's brain.  
"I can do a lot. Just not in this form," Alita complained, "I don't understand, all of you have a purpose but me. What am I?"  
"I suppose you'd be the optical candy. In a group of evil warriors, there's always at least one girl who serves no purpose other than to look beautiful and 'service' the lead warrior," Bob explained as he looked up from Glitch.  
Alita's jaw dropped.   
-------------  
When the forest finally ended, the gamers found themselves in front of a vast meadow within an ancient riverbed valley. There were no animals or tall vegitation to speak of for as far as the eye could see. At the same time, the sides of the valley were steeped and the forest continued atop each side.  
"This isn't good," Alita pointed out, "We have no cover out here. The enemy could ambush us at any time."  
"Don't worry so much, 'sister'," Gally replied, "We'll just backtrack into the forest and head out on one of the two sides."  
"No. We have to go through here," Bob explained, "We'll gain a major advantage over the User if we do."  
"How's that?" Enzo asked.  
"I get it. The User probably did backtrack, and with the way this forest is, he probably got lost before he found his way to one of the two ridges. His loss probably gave us some time to catch up, but we need a time advantage," Gally explained.  
"Ohhh," Enzo said.  
"Hey, Gally, you're catching on rather quickly," Bob noted, "Keep this up and you'll be a first class Gamer."  
Alita growled at that.  
"Really?" Gally smirked, "What a wonderful compliment, Bob."  
"Yes, but you're still a cold-coded killer," Bob added.  
Alita smiled.  
Gally's smirk turned to a frown, "Gee, thanks," she said.  
-------------  
The four Gamers entered the valley in a diamond formation, each one focusing their attention on a different quarter of the field. Alita, having borrowed one of Gally's sidearms, was feeling a bit better about herself, although her footing was still off thanks to her body's proportions. Gally, on the other hand, was nothing but confident. As long as she could fight, she would. Bob didn't feel comfortable at all. His fur was itching again and he couldn't find any way to get the troll's blood off of him. Lastly, Enzo was just enjoying himself. Unlike Alita and Bob, he had full confidence in what the Game gave him, and unlike Gally, he had a sense of wonder to go with it.  
They had gotten well along the valley path when, in the time-honored tradition of things, they were ambushed. A group of seven ogres with three berserker warriors appeared from the forest. Within a nanosecond, the group was completely surrounded.  
"Uhm, I'm a bit low on ammo, guys," Alita explained.  
"My magic's running too low for another big fight like this," Enzo agreed.  
"Well I'm still ready to fight," Gally commented.  
"Of course, you would be," Bob remarked, "But this group's too big. We can't fight this without casualty."  
"Fine, then we leave the kid behind," Gally decided, "Without his magic he's not much use to us."  
"No one gets left behind, Gally," Bob declared, "Not even you."  
"Then what do we do?" Alita asked.  
She was answered, not by Bob or one of the others, but by the head berserker warrior, "Pay a toll and you may pass," it explained.  
"What kind of toll?" Bob asked.  
"We want the girl," the lead berserker answered.  
"Well, you're not taking me," Gally explained.  
"Not you," the berserker laughed. It pointed its gnarled finger at Alita, "We want her!"  
"Me?" Alita said worriedly.  
The ogres and berserkers licked their lips and nodded.  
That's when Alita got really pissed. "I am not a sex toy!" she shouted, and shot out at the lead berserker with her right hand, palm facing forward. She tapped the creature's head for a split second and pulled back with a smirk, "Hertza heaon improvised," she said.  
The berserker stood still for a moment, uncertain as to what happened. Then, it felt a numbness wash through its body as a dull throb in its head grew stronger and stronger. Less than a nanosecond later, the berserker's head exploded, splattering the four Gamers in its yellow ichor.  
Alita raised her hand again, "Which of you goes next?" she asked.  
The ogres exchanged glances with each other, as if to confer on a course of action. Then they ran, fearful of the girl with the deadly touch.  
The moment the ogres ran, Gally sliced out with her Damascus blade, cleanly cutting the second berserker in half while Bob stabbed the last berserker in the chest before it could figure out what to do.  
"So it can work with a human body," Alita mused as she studied her hand. As she did she could just barely see the wiring and circuitry flowing just underneath her skin. She was still a cyborg, just with strength modifiers to make her weak.  
Bob turned to Alita after he cleaned his sword of the beresrker's blood. "What in the net was that?"  
"Hertza heaon," Alita replied, "I can transfer a vibration through an object, which builds up until it causes the object to explode from the inside. Normally it's only a move a cyborg can make, but some martial arts have a variation on the theory. Turns out I didn't need the variation, though. I'm still a cyborg."  
Bob raised his hands in frustration, "You've lost me," he explained.  
"Then let's just say that it's my secret weapon," Alita smiled.  
"What I want to know is how you knew all the ogres would run off," Enzo asked.  
"I used to read all kinds of books when I was younger. In most fantasy stories, the next highest creature in a group controls ogres. Berserkers are slightly more intelligent than ogres are, so they were in control. So when I killed the lead berserker, the ogres became disoriented and ran off," she explained.  
"Now you've lost me," Enzo replied.  
"Another secret then," Alita explained.  
"Enough with the introspection, let's get moving. We're ahead of the User now, but not by much," Gally explained.  
-------------  
At the end of the valley, the four Gamers found the goal; a large tower made of gleaming crystal. It loomed over them, creating a feeling of dread and insignificance in them.  
"How do we get to the top?" Enzo asked.  
"Forget the top, how do we get inside?" Alita wondered, "There aren't any seems. It's solid."  
"Glitch, scanner!" Bob told his keytool. It reshaped itself, creating an odd looking device with a scope at the front. The scope projected a beam of light that flowed over the structure for a few nanos, then stopped, while a display read out information.  
"What's it say?" Enzo asked.  
"There's a weak wall right in front of us that allows entrance," Bob explained, "Gally, you're the strongest of us, would you do the honors?"  
"Gladly," Gally answered. She walked right up to the crystal tower and smacked her fist into the side. It cracked, it split, but it did not shatter. She hit it again to an even lesser effect. "Just how weak is this wall?" she demanded after a few more punches.  
"A lot weaker than the rest. It's a very strong structure," Bob explained.  
"Let me try," Alita said, and shoved her pseudo-sister out of the way. She pulled her hand back slowly and gently placed it against the wall... To no avail. "The hertza haeon isn't working," she growled.  
"I could have told you it wouldn't work, sister. I already tried it," Gally pointed out.  
Enzo walked up to the tower and tinged his staff against it, "Not even a hole out of it," he complained. The moment his staff touched the crystal, however, it gave way, crumbling to the ground. "Huh?" he said in shock, "How'd it do that?"  
"I guess it required a gentle touch," Bob explained.  
"Showoff," Alita and Gally said in unison.  
--------------  
"Well, we're at the only entrance the User can come through. So now what?" Bob asked, "Do we destroy the User or get to the goal before him?"  
"I say we kill the User," Gally answered.  
"Wait a minute, sister," Alita said. She turned to Bob, "What is the goal?"  
Bob looked down at his keytool for a nano, then looked back up. "According to Glitch, the goal is a magical crystal shard. It's the last item on a mystical treasure hunt he's been on."  
"But doesn't that mean he's played it before?" Enzo asked.  
"Yes," Bob answered, "You see, every so often, a User grows tired of playing a Game, so he saves his position to play it later. In those cases, it's called a neutral Game, and the Cube leaves without doing any harm."  
"Strange," Alita murmured.  
"The ways of the User are beyond us," Bob explained.  
"This is all fascinating, I'm sure, but it still doesn't answer our question," Gally growled, "Do we stay here, or do we go up?"  
"I say we go up," Alita said.  
"I think we should fight the User," Enzo argued.  
"Normally I'd say go after the User," Bob noted, "But we haven't even seen the User so far and we're really low on hit points and mana, so I say go up."  
"I still say we fight it out," Gally argued.  
"A standoff," Alita pointed out, "We need a tie-breaker."  
"Why?" Gally asked.  
"Why what?" Bob said in confusion.  
"Why a tie-breaker? Why not just split up? The brat and I will take on the User while you and the hunk go get the crystal," the warrior explained.  
Bob thought for a moment... "No. I don't trust you with Enzo. You and I will stay here for the User. Enzo and Alita will go get the crystal."  
"Bob, that's uneven. You and Gally are the strongarmers in this Game. I'm useless in a fight and Enzo's a mage who's almost out of power. Gally should come with me," Alita argued.  
"Are you sure about this?" Bob asked the young girl.  
"As sure as I am of anything in this world," Alita replied.  
"Then get going. We'll do our best to stop the User, but we're really counting on you two," Bob explained.  
--------------  
The staircase within the crystal tower was not fraught with peril like the rest of the Game. Instead, it was just long. It winded around within the tower, ever leading upward. To make matters worse, it was angled in a way that made it almost a third longer than it should have been.  
All of this, however, mattered little to two girls with artificial lungs. The more force they exert, the more air their lungs supplied them with to keep them in balance.  
"Why did you ask for me to come along, 'sister'?" Gally asked Alita as they ascended the staircase.  
"Would you stop calling me sister like it's something you despise?" Alita demanded, "We're the same person. Why can't you act like it?"  
"Because we're not the same," Gally replied, "You've grown weak around all these friendly people. I'm still strong."  
"What happened to you? I wasn't ever this bad," Alita wondered.  
"I lost Figure. He died when that building fell on him. I nearly died at the hands of Knucklehead, because Figure wasn't there for me like he was for you."  
"I didn't realize... That's what you meant at the diner..."  
"Yes. And that's why I hate you. Not you yourself, but the life you have. I can never be trusted, not by the people of Mainframe, not by anybody. I don't know what it's like to care about somebody. I don't know what love is..."  
"Then stop fighting the people here. Put your talents to good use."  
"How?"  
"We'll figure that out when the Game's over."  
-------------  
The User was nothing like Bob or Enzo expected him to be. He wasn't a warrior, not in the strictest sense, nor was he a wizard or magician. No, the User looked much like a lawyer... Gray business suit, black and red power tie, even polished black shoes. In one hand he held a roll of papers. In the other hand he carried a brown briefcase.  
"Do you have an appointment?" he asked.  
"Uhm, no..." Bob replied.  
"Bob, what is this guy?" Enzo asked in a low whisper.  
"I don't know. He's totally out of character," Bob replied.  
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to sign these," the User explained. He held out two forms, one for each sprite.  
"Uhm, sure," Bob said, and he stepped forward.  
"Just sign here," the User indicated on the paper.  
Bob did so, signing 'Guardian Bob' in a rather elaborate signature.  
"And here..." the User pointed to another place on the paper.  
Bob signed again.  
"And here. And here. And here..." the User went on.   
After a few nanoseconds of this, Bob's sword hand was numb. "What in the net are you?" the Guardian asked.  
"I am Cochrane, the greatest lawyior in all the land," the User announced. He yanked the handle off of his suitcase, which formed into a fearsome blade. He jabbed it into Bob's shoulder, causing the Guardian to grunt in pain and pull back.  
The Guardian stared at the wound, which was starting to trickle red blood. "You're gonna pay for that," he growled, and reached for his sword.  
The lawyior was ready for him, though, and stabbed forward with his handle-blade. Bob was forced to dodge out of the way, leaving his sword in its sheath.  
"Bob!" Enzo cried out. He started to concentrate, waving his hands about dramatically. Then, a wall of solid force appeared before the lawyior. It didn't have much power, though and disappeared less than a nanosecond later. But it was enough, for Bob had his sword out...  
---------------  
The top of the tower was a sight to behold, crystal growths stretched out in magnificent arcs from floor to ceiling, spreading light and color across the room. And in the middle of the room, where all the light converged, was a shard of crystal, shaped like a dagger. It sat atop an alter of obsidian which seemed to grow from the floor.  
"This is what the User's after?" Gally asked with contempt, "A glass dagger."  
"Not glass. Crystal," Alita explained, "Not much of it existed in our world, but I recognize the description from the books I've read."  
"I see. So do we just grab it?" Gally asked.  
"No, look," Alita pointed, along the floor was a series of tripwires and trigger boards. The crystal arcs were not in fact arcs, but blades designed to slice any unsuspecting treasure collector to ribbons.  
"So it's trapped. So what? I could break every trap to pieces with my bare hands," Gally explained. She cracked her knuckles and stepped forward.  
"Yeah, and you might just break the crystal in the process," Alita explained.  
"So?"  
---------------  
Swords clanged and sparks flew as Bob and the User crossed blades. Despite the thin and weak appearance of the User's sword, it did not shatter against Bob's thick broadsword. In fact, the User's skills seemed to be knocking Bob around.  
"Enzo, don't you have any more spells?" Bob pleaded as he came under the fury of the lawyior's fighting abilities.  
"Sorry, Bob," Enzo sulked, "I used up all my magic making that shield."  
"That's just great, now what?" Bob complained.  
A nanosecond later, Bob found his sword shattered from a powerful blow from the lawyior's sword, the hilt resting in his hand.  
"Now you will face the wrath of my Red Tape," the User growled. He held out his hand in front of Bob's face. Magically, red tape extended from the palm of his hand and wrapped around the Guardian like a mummy.  
That's when something snapped in Enzo's mind. He suddenly realized he could do something to stop the User. He summoned the last ounce of energy in him...  
---------------  
"What do you mean, 'so'?" Alita asked her sister.  
"Do we really need the crystal?" Gally replied.  
"The User needs the crystal. We've got to keep it away from him," Alita explained.  
Gally smirked, "I've got a better idea," she said, and raised her handgun.  
---------------  
Enzo threw his staff, aiming his sharp diamond shard at the User. His magic propelled it forward, stabbing it right through his armored buisness suit and into his cold black heart.  
--------------  
Gally fired off a shot, shattering the crystal shard into a thousand pieces.  
--------------  
"Game Over, Dual Loss," the announcer voice called out. The cube raised out of existence.  
  
Chapter Nine: Aftermath  
It feels good to do right. It also can feel good to do wrong. But what does it feel like when those two things are one?   
For Gally, death is the only punishment she knows how to bring. It was her life and she feels it will continue to be so.   
But while in the Game Cube, she learned how it felt to trust others. She learned what it's like to work together. Now, she must face her past with new eyes from the same disfigured face.  
--------------  
"What happened?" Bob asked, back to his normal self, "I was too wrapped up in Red Tape to see, but I heard, 'Dual Loss'. That doesn't happen."  
"Why? What does 'Dual Loss' mean?" Alita asked.  
"It means the User lost in both ways," Bob explained, "The chances of that are a thousand to one."  
"Well, I decided to shoot the crystal shard. I mean, we didn't need it," Gally explained.  
"That's an interesting look at the situation," Bob noted.  
"Enzo, what did you do?" Bob asked the diminutive sprite.  
"I threw my staff at the User," Enzo explained, "I used the last of my mana to propel it enough to take out the User."  
"That's amazing. At the same exact time..." Alita murmured.  
"Yeah. That's amazing synchronization," Bob realized. He turned to Gally, "Now we have to figure out what to do with you..."  
"Me?" Gally asked worriedly.  
"Yes," Bob replied, "You see, I've heard about your actions lately. Last minute you killed over two dozen binomes and sprites engaged in a gang war."  
"Well, yeah. I was trying to help out," Gally defended.  
"That's not helping out," Bob explained, "That's cold-coded deleting."  
"I see..." Gally lowered her head in shame.  
"Therefore..." Bob began.  
"No! Don't, Bob!" Alita interjected, "Gally is my burden, not yours!"  
"I am a Guardian, Alita," Bob answered, "It is my burden. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to send you to the CPU..."  
Gally sunk her head even lower.  
"...Training Academy."  
Gally looked back up at Bob, "Huh?"  
"The CPU could use a fighter like you. If you could teach your skills to others it would be a great boon for us," Bob explained.  
Gally smiled. For the first time she could remember, she truly smiled, not demonic, nor sneaky, but a true heart-felt smile. "Thank you!"  
"Anytime," Bob replied, "But do you think you can cut down on the killing?"  
"I don't know. Think you could convince me, Guardian?" Gally smirked.  
"Uh... Uhm..." Bob stuttered.  
Glitch beeped, relieving the Guardian of his uncomfortable situation. He held it to his face, "Yes?"  
"Ah, Bob," Phong's face said from the gear screen, "Is Alita with you?"  
"Yeah, Phong," Bob replied, "She's here? What's wrong?"  
Alita's face became one of worry when she heard Bob.  
"Alita needs to come to the Principal Office. I have a message for her," Phong explained.  
Alita's breath caught in her throat, "From who?"  
"Your father," Phong explained.  
Alita didn't say another word. She just grabbed a zip-board and flew away.  
  
Chapter Ten: The Final message  
What is it like to lose a loved one? I know. I know how very hard it weighs on a person's heart. How much it hurts to know that person will never be there for me. It hurts so very much.  
More than the hurting, there's the never getting to say goodbye. There's the hurt of not knowing what their final message to you might have been.  
Alita has been given the chance to talk to her father one last time. What questions will she have? What questions are there that can't be put into words? What questions are there that can't be answered?  
-------------  
Alita stepped into the Principal Office with confusion and worry in her heart. "Phong?" she called out.  
"I am here, my child," the ancient sprite replied.  
"What is this message you have from my father?" Alita asked softly, "And why didn't you give it to me the first time we met."  
"Etto instructed me to not give you the message until after you survived a Game Cube. I have no idea why he asked this of me, but I obeyed his wishes," the wise one explained.  
"Where is it?"  
"In the Read-only room," the sprite explained. He waved his hand in the direction of a large chamber off to the left of him, "Just ask for the file by Daisuke."  
"Thank you," Alita said. She bent down and kissed him on the cheek, then walked off toward the room.  
-------------  
The read only room was immense, filled with hundreds of vid-windows, all of them displaying information that a thousand lifetimes could not allow one to read it all. Alita was confused with all the files, wondering which one was for her. That is, until she remembered.  
"Room, display the Daisuke File," she called out.  
A vid-window came down before her displaying an image she had burned into her mind. It was Ido, short-cut hair, long face, and glasses. The fact that his skin was green didn't damage the resemblance. It was her surrogate father, Ido.  
"Ido?"  
"Hello, Alita," the image said. "I'm sure you have a thousand questions for me. Just ask."  
"How? You're just a message," she spoke aloud, even though she knew it wouldn't answer.  
"I am far more than a message, Alita," Ido/Etto explained, "You might have learned this already, but the secret of Tiphares lies in our minds. We don't have a brain like normal people. We have a microchip installed after we train to become Tiphareans. None of us know this, but Desty Nova somehow discovered this and fled Tiphares. When he revealed this to me, I nearly went mad. I erased my memory, leaving my body an empty husk to live out a meager life elsewhere. My mind, however, I downloaded into this world."  
"But what does this have to do with this message?" Alita asked. She was shocked that Ido could talk to her, but not completely.  
"Since you are here I can assume I am dead, so it is safe to explain that my mind was again transferred. My brain algorithms were stored in this message should you ever make your way here. I am all that is left of Ido now."  
Alita started crying. She fell to her knees in tears.  
"Don't cry, Alita," Ido said, "I'm here for you. You can come here whenever you want and we can talk."  
"I'm sorry, Ido," Alita said as she wiped her tears away, "It's just, I've been let down so many times now, and I've done so many horrible things since I last saw you... It hurts... A lot."  
"I know," Ido frowned, "It hurts me too."  
Alita turned to Ido, "Tell me... How did you find this place?"  
"For a while I was Nova's lab assistant. I didn't want to be, but he had a way of forcing me to. He had this serum that would prevent the nanites inside me from dying, leaving me a decaying mass of flesh. He designed the nanites that way for just such an emergency.   
"If that didn't work, he explained that he would kill you. He said he knew where you were at all times and could kill you with the push of a button. He even showed me video images he pirated from the Tuned flyer Gabrielle as proof. I watched your entire life on that camera..." Ido halted, then wiped an imaginary tear away.  
"Together, we did a lot of research, most of which I hated myself for. But when we came to the Granite Inn, I found that inside its massive computer was another world, a world made of light and energy. That same day I learned of the Ouroboros program. That's when I decided to turn the world into a place of safety for you, or any other should Nova use the Ouroboros.  
"Soon after that I learned the secret. The secret that drove me insane. I erased my memory and downloaded a copy of my mind into this world, which created a body for me, and lived here for many, many cycles. I have no idea what happened to my body. I was trapped here."  
"So that's how you lost your memory..." Alita remarked.  
"Yes... Here, I was a whole new man. The age of the system had caused a lot of degradation, so I immediately began to do repairs, using my skill and the realization that I could control the fabric of this world. Not much, but enough to do things like creating small objects from nothing and repairing the tears that plagued this world. It had something to do with knowing that it was all computer code, or something like that.  
"It was shortly after I arrived that I became trapped in a Game Cube. Inside, I met Phong, who was a normal sprite at the time. He was badly injured, and the User was preparing to finish him off, so I deleted him, using a replica of my rocket hammer."  
"Phong told me about that. He told me about Chiren, and Dot and Enzo," Alita explained, "He even told me about Kilobyte."  
Ido frowned, "Yes. Kilobyte was a good deed gone bad. I repaired him and gave him a cyborg body, but he abused the strength it gave him. That's why I had to destroy him..." he paused, not wanting to say anymore, "How are Dot and Enzo? I haven't seen them in cycles."  
"They're doing good. Dot's started up a business and Enzo's still a kid so he just plays around..." Alita replied. Without realizing it, she found herself blushing.  
"You've taken a fondness to Enzo, haven't you?" Ido asked.  
"Yes..."  
"There's nothing wrong with that."  
"But now that I know we both have the same father... There is something wrong with that."  
"Not at all. Enzo is my true son. You were adopted. I love you both very much, but there is no blood between you two."  
"I see..." Alita went quiet.   
"What's wrong?"  
"It's seeing you like this," Alita explained, "I can't touch you or hug you. You can't hold me when I feel down or tinker with my body..."  
"No, but I've always been with you, Alita," Ido replied, "I've always cared about you. You should know that."  
"I do... But still..." she trailed off.  
"You don't think I love you anymore, do you?" Ido asked. "Don't. Like I explained, I've been watching you for years. I know you became a Tuned to find me. I'm proud of the good you've done as a Tuned. And I know what you've done bad and don't blame you. You were forced to do a lot of bad things, but you're still my Alita. Don't ever think I don't love you.  
Alita turned to Ido's image, "Can I come down here every now and then? I know you're not the same as you used to be, but I'd still like to talk."  
"You can come here whenever you want," Ido replied.  
"Thank you," Alita said. She started to cry again and leaned against the vid-window as support. She cried like that for a long time. But in the end, she felt better about everything.  
The End  
  
In the night's drifting waves, I wetted the tips of my feet.  
As the rain began to fall and my flaming heart became extinguished,   
these lips of mine could no longer feel your warmth.  
  
Oh just once,  
if only I could confess my love and let my tears flow.  
Oh just once,  
in the sea in the sky, before this life becomes washed away in its froth...  
will you be with this insignificant girl?  
  
With my love clouded, I could only embrace my sadness.  
Rocking the ship of sands as it floated upon a city of ruins,  
these fingertips of mine could no longer feel your warmth.  
  
Oh just once,  
I promise you, you will see your dreams come true.  
Oh just once,  
in the sea in the sky, before this life melts away and   
disappears...  
will you be with this insignificant girl?  
  
Oh just once,  
if only I could confess my love and let my tears flow.  
Oh just once,  
in the sea in the sky, you will see your dream come true.  
  
Oh just once,  
as everything crumbles away, I long for your strong embrace.  
Oh just once,  
if I could feel the warmth again, and since I'm about to break  
away into pieces...  
will you be with this insignificant girl?  
  



End file.
